One Step Too Early
by essihtam
Summary: After being shot and hospitalized, Relena is still alive... but no one even knows about it, yet. Dorothy's whereabouts are unknown for the time being. How does Heero react when he finds out?
1. Chapter 1

I really don't know why I'm posting this, because I have no idea how to finish it... but I'm doing it anyway. I have a sort of romance in mind though... It's an AU story, a look back in the war time. It was an idea that popped into my head after watching episode 29.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, or the characters yadda yadda yadda...

One Step Too Early

Part 1 

A.C. 195 - The restored Cinq Kingdom

"Miss Relena, are you sure we should allow the new girl to come? Who knows what they have sent her here for."

The young leader of the Cinq Kingdom smiled, closing her eyes. "Pagan, the Romafeller Foundation is sending her to hear the teachings of pacifism. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

"I'm just concerned for your safety."

Relena nodded. The rest of the ride back to the palace was quiet.

"I'll be heading to my room now, Pagan. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Miss Relena." She smiled slightly, and turned towards the direction of her room.

Pagan immediately went to another small room, where he turned on the communication unit and called Noin, who answered right away. 

"Hi, Pagan."

"Hello, Miss Noin. I was calling to tell you about a new girl. The Romafeller Foundation is sending her to learn about the ways of pacifism... but I'm not sure if we should trust them, or her."

Noin thought for a moment. "When will she arrive?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." _'_

_I won't be there...'_,Noin thought,_'Hopefully nothing will happen...'_ "If Miss Relena isn't worried, then we should trust her judgment. Keep me posted." '_And hopefully you know what you're doing, Miss Relena, I won't forgive myself if something does happen...'_

~The next day~

'_What a new experience... learning about peace at the one place the Foundation is the most intent on destroying. How ironic everything is...'_

The girl pulled over her large yellow automobile noticing a few mobile suits flying overhead. "The real was hasn't started yet..." she murmured. "What are you waiting for?", she shouted,"Go ahead and start it!"

-Cinq Kingdom

"Miss Relena, the new girl has arrived." 

Relena looked up from her large desk. "Thank you, Pagan. Please send her in."

A girl about her age, with almost knee-length blond hair, and the most peculiar eyebrows, walked in. "So you are Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Cinq Kingdom. I had no idea you were so young!"

"I'm pleased to meet you, and personally welcome you to the Cinq Kingdom. You are...?"

"My name is Dorothy Catalonia, it's a pleasure to be here Miss Relena."

"Please, just call me Relena." 

"But I can't! You are the leader of the pacifist nation, in which many others set as their model for total pacifism. You deserve much more respect."

Relena only nodded. "If you really want to."

"But of course! It would be so interesting to learn your ways of peace, and see what it is the Foundation is really afraid of."

"I don't see why, though. What is the point of fighting? The wars will continue unless everything throws away their weapons."

"But Miss Relena, they can't do that. Once you are apart of a war you stay until you get killed, or until it is over. A true soldier doesn't run away from a battle."

"It wouldn't be running away. It would be saving lives for peace."

"Wars are so beautiful. Throwing away weapons and stopping wars would only be going against human nature. Our instinct is always to fight, and defend."

Relena closed her eyes and turned aroung to face her large glass wall overlooking the sea. "It is what I believe in, and I will strive for it."

"Of course you will. That's just what they told me." Dorothy reached into her coat. 

Relena's eyes snapped open when she heard a gun cock. '_A gun?... Was she sent here to...'_

_"_It's a shame this has to be done, but that's what I was sent here for."

Many things happened only in a matter of seconds. Dorothy smiled a bit, pulling the trigger. Relena whirled around just in time to see her do it. On her face was a look of fear and shock. She watched as the bullet came towards her, paralyzed with fear. Her mind told her to move, and yet all she registered from it was terror. Right before it went through she came out of her numbness to move.

But, it was still too late to stop from getting it. Instead of getting a bullet into her chest, it went right under her shoulder blade. No pain was felt the moment it entered her skin. She saw the blood pour out, yet no pain at all.

It was then that Pagan, who had been standing right outside, came in the room. He saw Dorothy bolt right past him as he entered, and heard a dull thud.

Going around the desk, there lie Relena, on the floor, the carpet slowly absorbing more blood as it flowed out of her wound.

Umm... so how it is so far? I didn't feel like getting very detailed since I'm so tired. Please review and tell me if I should continue. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nope, I don't own Gundam Wing, or it's characters, unfortunantly. 

One Step Too Early

Part 2 

A dull, rhythmic beeping sound came from her hospital room. She was still alive, yes, but barely. 

"She was lucky the shot didn't hit her collar bone. It's possible that if it did, it would have cracked. However, she has lost a lot of blood, and you said she fell down pretty hard which knocked her out at the same time." That's what the doctor told him. _'_

_Now, how to tell_ _Miss Noin... and she's also bringing the boy, Heero...'_ Pagan sighed, his normally tired looking face showing even more fatigue. _'And everyone else...'_ He walked into her room. 

Relena was immobile in her bed, tubes hooked up to her everywhere. Her skin was as white as the sheets, literally. If it wasn't for the beeping sound, and the fact that she did open her eyes once, you wouldn't be able to tell she was still alive. 

"She will be receiving a blood transfusion tomorrow." The doctor said, standing in the doorway. "We'll call you when it's done to come visit her." Pagan nodded, only catching that she was getting a transfusion. '_I better call Miss Noin now.'_

~~~~~~ 

"What? Shot? The two gundam pilots watched as Noin's face turned deathly pale. '_This is my fault... I should have been there...'_ Her fists clenched in anger and frustration, but at the same time she was choking back sobs. One fist pounded against the unit. "Damnit!" 

"Miss Noin, this was not your fault. It was very unexpected." 

Noin nodded, not buying it at all. '_It is my fault... Zechs, how will I face you now?'_

Quatre and Heero didn't here the voice on the other end because it was too low, but someone important was shot if it made Noin that distressed. That, they knew. 

She walked away from the corner, her face tight with unleashed anger and puffy red eyes. 

"Miss Noin," Quatre started, a bit taken back her expression," what happened?" It was a perfectly innocent question, coming from an innocent-looking young man. 

She chose to ignore the question, that and the hard look from the dark haired pilot. She turned to the pilot of the plane. 

"Get to the Cinq Kingdom, on the double." 

"Yes m'am." 

Once reaching the hospital, Noin stormed through the hospital doors with a force that nearly took them off their hinges. Heero's eyes widened a little by her action, but went back to the cool, impassive glare. Quatre, on the other hand, walked a ways behind her, not wanting to be nearby her in that state. Who knows what she would do if she got even more agitated... 

Noin left the pilots behind once spotting Pagan sitting in the waiting room. His head was down, as if he was staring at the sterile white floor. "Pagan?" 

He slowly looked up, his expression becoming more alert. "Ah, Miss Noin. You're finally here." Looking past her he saw the two gundam pilots looking in their direction. "Do they know yet?" 

"No. I don't know how to tell them." '_Or Zechs...'_

_She could see his face. The ice blue eyes glazed over with hatred... towards her? But he was never angry with her... He never had a reason to before though... His mouth was tight, almost expressing disgust._

_"Noin," it was spat out," I trusted you to take care of Relena. Not let her get shot." They were stabs, each word he spoke to her was a stab at her heart. She had expected that reaction from him, but hearing him say it..._

_She saw herself shrink down, tears flowing from her eyes, begging for him to stay. His look didn't change. "I can't trust you anymore, Lucrezia."_

_Everything around her turned black, his image slowly faded away. The way he said her name was like the way someone would talk to their worst enemy. Nothing but contempt..._

One lone tear slid down Noin's cheek. "I'm sorry..." 

"Miss Noin?" Her hand came up and quickly wiped the tear from her face. '_Ok Lucrezia, look focused.' "_Yes?" 

"We can see Miss Relena now." Noin nodded, following Pagan into her room. 

The doctor smiled as she watched them enter. "The transfusion was successful, but she hasn't woken up yet. She should anytime." 

Pagan and Noin stopped at the edge of her bed for a few minutes. She finally broke the silence. "They're most likely very curious by now. I'll go tell them." She exited the room, not really wanting to break the news to them, especially Heero, but she knew that she had to. 

They eyed her suspiciously as she walked down the hall to meet them. Her face was no longer showing anger, but her eyes were downcast. "Heero, Quatre, I'm not sure how to say this.., well, you see..." She was at a lost for words. _'Just say it already!'_

With a big sigh, Noin closed her eyes turning to walk to the room. "Follow me." The pilots looked at each other, then at Noin who was already down the hallway, and complied. Once reaching the door she was standing by she opened it and entered, the two right behind her. 

She watched each of their reactions. Quatre took one look and gasped. He had never met her before, but he knew she didn't deserve this. "She... was shot..." It wasn't a question, more of a statement not directed at anyone in particular. 

Heero took it differently. His prussian blue eyes darkened somewhat. '_This wasn't supposed to happen...'_ His fists were clenched by his sides, knuckles turning white by the pressure. A low growl emitted from him, a deep scowl on his face. The young man took one last look at Relena's sleeping form, silently cursing before hastily exiting the room, slamming the door roughly behind him. 

Is Relena going to wake up soon? When will the public find out? Where did Dorothy go, and why did she do it? Find out in the next chapter, whenever it comes out. Review!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't 'em and I don't claim to either. But I sure wish I did. 

One Step Too Early

Part 3 

A scowl was present on Heero's face as he walked down the hall, into the waiting room where Pagan was seated at the moment. "Who was it?" He demanded gruffly, voice echoing in the plain empty room. 

Pagan looked up, not fully aware that somebody was talking to him. "Excuse me?" 

Heero sucked in a breath. "Who did it? Who shot her?" 

'_I wonder what he's planning...' _"I believe her name was..." Pagan tried to recall what he heard that day. "I believe it was Dorothy... Dorothy Catalonia..." 

"Who sent her?" 

"The Romafeller Foundation." 

"And Relena knew this but still let her in?" The question was uttered, but Pagan still heard and looked down at the spotless white floor. 

"Yes." '_Why did you let her in, Miss Relena?'_

Heero's face turned fierce. His eyes were burning with anger, but inside he was confused as can be. His mind was plagued with unanswered questions and it made him angry. _'Why did you let her come? Didn't you expect something like this? But... why did _she_ do it? Relena was no threat to her...'_

Without a word, he turned on his heels and stormed off, intent on answering ALL questions, some way or another. 

Noin came into the room as soon as he left. Her head turned to watch him go, the determination in his eyes. "Guess he's off to search for her." Pagan nodded in response. 

~~~~~~~~ 

Heero stared at his laptop while typing at top speed. The screen flashed signaling that it was loading a page, one on Dorothy Catalonia. "Age:16. Height: 156 cm. Weight: 45 kg. Hair: blond. Eyes: blue. Residence: Romafeller Foundation. Last seen: Romafeller Foundation." '_It wasn't updated yet... damnit, where are you?'_

"Any luck?" A voice that came from behind him asked. It belonged to his fellow gundam pilot, Quatre, a friendly smile on his face. 

Heero shook his head, his unruly bangs moving out of place. "None so far." 

"It's been two days. Who knows where she is now... Where have you searched?" 

"Here, the Luxembourg base, other surrounding countries, Romafeller... no trace of her anywhere." Showing his frustration, one fist pounded against the desk causing the laptop to tremor. 

Quatre's brow furrowed. "What about the colonies? She could have had a shuttle waiting for her." 

Heero turned to face his laptop. "Makes sense." He began to type furiously on the keyboard. The flashing screen light danced off their faces forming strange looking shadows in the room, and darkening the expressions of those closest to it.

A high-pitched beep sounded announcing that a page was loading, albeit very slowly. "Dorothy Catalonia, last seen: L1 area, colony X19667." '_This was today, only an hour ago...'_ Heero abruptly stood heading for the door. "Watch her." 

Quatre smiled warmly, knowing exactly what he meant. '_I'll watch her for you.' "_You're going now?" 

"Yeah." 

"But you don't even know _where_ she is in the colony." Heero stopped in his tracks not turning back around. His blue eyes narrowed, and he spoke slowly, resentment in his voice, revenge on his mind. "I'll find her, and I _will _get answers." 

~~~~~~~~ 

As he entered Relena's hospital, his green-blue eyes drifted to her peaceful form. She had regained some color, but still hadn't waken up. Quatre also noticed that Pagan was all alone in the room. "Pagan, where's Miss Noin?" 

"She went back to the palace. I think she was planning on telling the public." 

"What? Now?" 

"We don't know for sure when Miss Relena will wake up, and when it comes time for her conferences, we can't make any excuses to the representatives. It has to be done." 

"I guess you're right, but does she know what to say?" "I don't know. She told me that she could handle it." '_And I hope you're right, Miss Noin.'_

~~~~~~~~ 

_'I have to do this. It won't be too hard... just tell the world that Relena, princess and leader of the Cinq Kingdom was shot... It doesn't matter that everyone will be watching... including Zechs...'_

Her mind drifted back to that image of his face, the ice blue eyes boring through hers, the scowl, the words that stabbed at her heart... 

"No, stop thinking about that!" She screamed at herself, trying to sound convincing, but it only out came barely above a whisper. '_I can't trust you anymore, Lucrezia...'_

Noin bent over the unit, hands grabbing fists full of her short, dark hair in a futile attempt to take the pain away by pulling on it. '_I'm sorry... so sorry...'_

The tears stung her eyes, threatening to fall over but she held them back for fear that once she started it would be a while before she stopped, like a river breaking loose from the dam stopping its flow. It was to no avail. One drop fell on the unit, and another, and another. '_Damnit, Lucrezia! You have to be stronger, a soldier doesn't cry!'_

Despite what she was thinking, she didn't try to stop anymore. All of the tears she held back throughout the whole ordeal, and even before that slid down her cheeks, joining the pool of shed tears. 

~~~~~~~~ 

The actual shuttle flight was 2 hours long, to him it seemed like the whole day. He was completely lost in his thoughts during the flight. Never the less, he reached colony X19667, and was on his search for Dorothy Catalonia. He came to a plain, rather ugly-looking apartment building with moss and vines blanketing the sides, chunks of brick missing from the walls, and cracked windows. His sources told him that's where she was staying. 

As he mounted the stairs, a hollow creaking echoed in the stairwell. After walking three stories of walking up stairs he made it to her room. Taking a deep breath, he drew his gun keeping it by his side, and in one swift kick, knocked the door down. It fell with a dull thud, dust floating up from the raggedy, and stained carpet beneath it, sparkling from the reflection of the sunlight. 

The blond-haired girl whose back was previously facing him whirled around, her hair flying all around her gleaming in the light as well. Shock was clearly evident on her face, but her hazy blue eyes were more cautious, almost knowing. 

The shock left her face as fast as it came. The hazy blue eyes laughed at his own. One corner of her mouth curved up into a wry smile. 

Heero only stared back with the same intensity in his eyes as before, the scowl ever-present on his face. He raised the gun to level with her head. This action only made her smile break out into a full fledged mocking grin, hanging from her ears. Eyes narrowing into slits, shining like precious stones in the shadows with amusement. 

"Heero Yuy, I presume? I was expecting you." 

OK, so _why_ did Dorothy do it? And is Relena _ever _going to wake up? Is Noin going to find enough courage to tell the public? 


	4. Chapter 4

This right here is the last chapter of the 'One Step Too Early' series. I know this entire story was kind of short... but I kind of figured out how to end it just right for the Christmas-based sequel. Please, no one hate me! It ends kind of in a weird place. This is for my benefit, I guess the readers' benefits too. 

One Step Too Early

Part 4 

Dorothy continued, and in her speaking, emphasized all the words she spoke. "You will not be needing that Mr. Yuy." She commented, referring to his gun pointed at her head. Her response was a low growl as the gun dropped back to his side, but still clutched tightly in his grip. It was true, if he did kill her it would mean nothing because what was done was done, but no one knew what was done, yet. "Much better. I'm assuming you came here on the matters with Miss Relena, right?" 

"You know that answer already." Heero all but spat the answer out. His eyes were narrowed into parallel slits, staring at her with the full intensity of his blue eyes. 

"And you want to know why I did it, right?" 

"Go on before I decide to shoot right now." 

"You must be patient, Mr. Yuy." She paused a bit, her mouth curving back up into the small, cynical smile, eyes glistening like a child who just received candy. "There was once a man that was admired and respected by the colonies. He served as a representative for the colonies as a whole, standing for peace. Strange that man had the same name as you, isn't it? One day, that very man who stood for peace was shot, dead that instant." 

Heero growled once again as his fists clenched. "What does that have to do with Relena?" 

Dorothy laughed. It was a lower, shorter version of a witch's cackle. "It has much to do with Miss Relena. That man, Heero Yuy, was shot because whoever did it did not want peace." 

"Are you saying you don't want peace?" 

"Not exactly. What I want _is _the war _itself. _Peace is the main result after a war." Dorothy turned to face the window, her hands clasped together. " Wars are very beautiful when you think about it. All the noble people who go out to fight, knowing full well that they could die in battle. As a gundam pilot, you should know what I'm talking about." 

"I don't fight for my enjoyment. And I don't find people getting massacred beautiful. I do it to destroy those who oppose me, they are my enemies." 

"I guess that would make me one of your enemies too." 

"That's right, and all enemies must be eliminated by all means possible, but you still haven't said why." 

Realization hit Dorothy's face. "Oh, of course I haven't! I believe her exact words were 'It is what I believe in, and I will strive for it.'" 

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" 

"Mr. Yuy, I told you to be patient, I'm not done yet. I was merely doing what she asked for, or rather implied. She said that she would strive for peace, meaning if worse comes to worse, she would die for it." 

"What kind of a reason is that?" Heero was almost ready to aim and shoot at her, but stopped immediately as the vid-phone screen flicked on, and Noin's face appeared. 

~~~~~~~ 

All across the world, and space, her face appeared on each and every communication unit. The eyes of the earth's population were watching her. 

Noin took a deep breath and started her speech. "This is Lucrezia Noin, Imperial Guard of Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Cinq Kingdom. Just recently Miss Relena has been shot by a visitor of the Cinq Kingdom, sent by the Romafeller Foundation. Miss Relena is still alive, and received a blood transfusion a few hours ago. She has not waken up yet, but is expected to soon. Once she does, I assure you the public will find out. Let all prayers be with Miss Relena right now." Noin closed her eyes and terminated the transmission. 

A deathly silence filled the streets of the world. All the noise that did clatter in the air in each working place, home, car, store, and so on came to a halt once Noin said she was shot. The entire world held its breath, as if waiting for something to distract it from what they just heard. 

Once the realization of the matter kicked in, the reactions of everyone were widely varied, yes I mean _widely_. The members of the part of the Romafeller intent on destroying the Cinq Kingdom all smiled.(that's like what Duke Dermail and Tuberov? Well just pretend there's more people) "Dorothy did well.... this will start the war we wanted for sure." 

The other part of the Romafeller Foundation looked on, partly shocked at what happened to Relena, partly disgusted with the way the other members handled this. "This is going to divide us all..." 

The citizens of the countries that supported the Cinq Kingdom, and the ideals of total pacifism stared at the now blank screen. Horror and disbelief was all over their faces. Relena, representative of peace, and leader of the most prominent pacifist nation no less, shot?? It was unthinkable. 

~~~~~~~ 

Duo switched off the television as news stations began to report on the matters. There was no point in watched Noin's speech over and over. He heard it the first time, loud and clear. '_So Romafeller finally did it. They took action, and this is what happened. Did they really have to go this far? I have the feeling the decision maker's coming up, and real soon.'_

"Did you hear that Trowa? She was shot. That Romafeller's really asking for it." Trowa nodded, not hearing what Catherine said, but it didn't matter anyway. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He would hear things, they would sound familiar, but he could never quite place where he heard from before. It got to the point that he would always get so cold when he thought about any of those things. '_Romafeller Foundation? I'm sure I've heard that before somewhere...' _The coldness came back, it started as just a chill up his spine until he was shivering, literally shaking as if he was in freezing weather with a pair of shorts, and short sleeve shirt on. 

Wufei watched the screen out in the darkness, and never-ending silence of space. '_And I thought they were bad before... but to shoot a pacifist... that's just too far, even if I don't agree with her throwing away weapons... Romafeller is the force behind OZ. _They _are my enemies. It seems we will be fighting again real soon, Nataku.'_

Zechs stared at the screen in front of him. From the back of his mind, he could hear Howard trying to bring him back into reality... but...she was shot? How could that have happened? _'Wasn't Noin there? Or at least Pagan? Romafeller...'_ Zechs's ice blue eyes hardened at the thought that he was ever under their command. '_Zechs Merquise of OZ is dead. Now, on my own, I will get my revenge on that clan of misguided old men, somehow I will do it...'_

~~~~~~~ 

Noin sighed, the weight of a thousand tons lifted off her shoulders, and her heart. _'I finally got that over with... I wonder how everyone took that... it was certainly one big shock for me...'_

_"_Miss Noin?" She didn't need to turn around. It was Quatre with Pagan next to him. "Would you like to come with us to see Miss Relena?" She smiled the first smile that whole day. Really, there was nothing to smile about when a pacifist gets shot, and when you worry about the reaction your closest friend and your one and only love will have when you were suppose to protect her. "Sure."

~~~~~~ 

Dorothy pealed her eyes from the blank vid-phone to look back at Heero, his attention still on the machine. "Now that it's out in the open, you might as well shoot me. Once everyone finds out, you'll become a hero." 

"I don't want to be any hero. I _can't _be a hero after all I've done." The gun that was once again raised to her head was lossened from his grip. It seemed like it fell in slow motion. It slowly slid down the emptiness of the stuffy air, and fell barrel first onto the stained, dust-ridden carpet. The handle then also touched the ground, before all of it hit, and it stayed. 

This action totally surprised Dorothy, who was fully expecting him to shoot her. But, why didn't he? Her hazy blue eyes widened, not understanding what just happened. _'He was supposed to shoot me...maybe I should be grateful, I get to see the new war that will arise... the _real_ one...'_

"It wouldn't matter even if I did kill you." Heero was already at the door and walking out. "You can watch your war that you started, I'm going to go fight and put a stop to it." And he was gone. A few short hours later, he was boarded on a shuttle back to earth. Though he wanted to deny it, fact was_, _he was going to see _her. _

Once again lost in his thoughts, Heero arrived back on earth, this ride seeming a lot shorter. '_Maybe it's because you know you're going to see her...'_ Heero stopped his thoughts right there, he didn't want to know what those ideas would go. It was nighttime when he did get to the airport, and decided that now would be the time to see Relena. 

Managing to slip inside the hospital somehow, Heero came to the doorway of her room. He could see her, mostly covered in the shadows of the trees stretching across her sleeping frame. Her breathing was now steady, the incessant beep the only thing showing she was still alive.

Heero walked to her bed, watching her sleep. '_Even now, she looks so calm and peaceful...'_ He took her limp, white hand in his. "I'll fight for you, and I'll protect you. I promise. I'll see you again... sometime..." Glancing at her one more time, Heero walked out her room.

As soon as he left, Relena's eyes fluttered open, sensing someone was there. '_Could it have been... no... but it seemed like it...'_ A weak smile flashed on her face as she closed her eyes. "I'm looking forward to it, Heero..." Quietly Relena went back to sleep dreaming of that day that she would see him again.

LA FIN

There's that romance... took a while.... Pretty sappy ending for a story that started so serious, huh? Sorry 'bout that... I couldn't help it... being hopeless romantic does that to you. 


End file.
